2 arrested for allegedly ripping face masks off Jews in Brooklyn

The incidents took place in the WIlliamsburg neighborhood.

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(JTA) — Two people were arrested for allegedly ripping face masks off of identifiably Jewish people in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn in New York City.

The suspects have not yet been identified or been charged, NBC New York reported Monday morning.

The couple were later identified as Paulo Pinho, 35, and his wife, Clelia Pinho, 46, of Queens. They were arrested on a charge of aggravated harassment as a hate crime, the New York Post reported.

They stopped their car after noticing a group of Hasidic Jews on the corner, and got out while shouting what police described as anti-Semitic slurs, and complaining that many were not wearing masks or practicing appropriate social distancing. They then tried to remove the face masks of several men.

Video posted on Twitter by Belaaz shows police and crowds gathering late Sunday night after an incident.

 

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